Tehran Times

2025-12-08 20:30
By Shahrokh Saei

Syria one year after Assad: Jolani’s makeover, minority panic, and Israeli strikes

TEHRAN – On December 8, 2024, Syria entered a new phase when Damascus fell, and the Ba'ath Party’s long rule ended. Bashar al-Assad departed for Russia, where he was granted asylum. For many Syrians, Assad’s exit was neither a moment of triumph nor defeat, but the beginning of a new uncertainty. The vacuum left behind opened the door for forces both domestic and foreign to shape Syria’s trajectory.

By Garsha Vazirian

The tail that trained the dog to heel

From Pollard’s tea party to hidden microphones in Gaza “aid” center—same leash, same blood

TEHRAN – They built the room together. America paid for the walls, the fake grass carpet, and the giant posters of Trump’s twenty-point plan. America flew in the logisticians who know how to move rice through war zones. America even invited a few Dutch and Emirati officers to keep up the pretense of multilateralism.
By Sondoss Al Asaad

Lebanon faces a choice between real power and foreign illusions

BEIRUT—Lebanon’s political and security landscape has long been defined by a paradox: the nation’s true defenders often operate outside formal institutions, while the official state struggles to assert authority, maintain sovereignty, or protect its people.
By Wesam Bahrani

Behind Israel’s high Gaza casualties

TEHRAN – The Israeli regime’s mounting wartime casualties expose a grinding battle shaped by resilient Palestinian factions and shifting battle dynamics.
Tehran and Baku must guard partnership against external interference: Araghchi

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his visit to Baku came at a “highly timely” moment for reassessing relations between the two neighboring countries, stressing that Tehran and Baku should not allow external actors to disrupt or redirect their partnership.
Tehran hosts meeting of African envoys to boost science, health cooperation

TEHRAN – Iranian officials and the ambassadors of 19 African countries to Tehran have discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of science, education, research, and health.

Politics

Another group of Iranian inmates freed in US head home

Another batch of Iranian nationals freed from detention in the United States have left the Mesa Gateway Airport in the state of Arizona to return their homeland, said head of the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, D.C., Abolfazl Mehrabadi.
Geopolitical opportunities for Iran in light of West’s structural challenges

The contemporary world is undergoing a transition from a unipolar order toward a multi-centered one—an order in which power is distributed among numerous actors, and the ability of states to influence global affairs increasingly depends on their geopolitical capacities, deterrent power, strategic independence, and their capability to shape their regional environment.
Iran’s Border Guard chief in Pakistan for talks on border security

TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s Border Guard Command Brigadier General Ahmad Ali Goudarzi has arrived in Pakistan to hold talks on boosting border cooperation and maritime security issues and to participate in an international drill as an observer.

Sports

Iran fall short to Uruguay at 2025 President’s Cup

TEHRAN - Uruguay, who play their sixth World Championship, defeated Iran 27-16 at the 2025 President's Cup Group I on Monday.
Iran has five contenders at 2025 world’s most dominant wrestler

TEHRAN - Five Iranian wrestlers have been named among the contenders for the title of the most dominant wrestler of 2025 according to United World Wrestling (UWW).
We tested youths at 2025 IWBF Asia Oceania: Moeini

TEHRAN – Azade Sadat Moeini, head coach of Iran’s women’s wheelchair basketball team, has expressed satisfaction with her squad’s performance at the 2025 IWBF Asia Oceania Championships, recently held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Culture

"The Last Lullaby" honors martyred children of 12-day war during Hamedan theater festival

TEHRAN- During the 30th edition of Iran’s International Theater Festival for Children and Young Adults, which is currently underway in Hamedan, the performance titled "The Last Lullaby" took the audience on an emotional journey through the stories of children martyred in the 12-day war, featuring a collection of over 100 handcrafted puppets.
Iranian documentary “Forgotten” competing in 10th Planeta.Doc

TEHRAN – The Iranian documentary “Forgotten” directed by Saied Nabi and Maryam Khadivi is competing in the 10th International Festival of Socio-Environmental Cinema Planeta.Doc, which is underway in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
IAF to show Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice”

TEHRAN – The 2025 South Korean satirical black comedy thriller film “No Other Choice” co-written, produced, and directed by Park Chan-wook will be screened at the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) in Tehran on Thursday.

Economy

Iran’s top 100 SMEs celebrated at 1st national ranking event

TEHRAN – Iran held its first national event to rank small and medium-sized enterprises (SME 100), a joint initiative by the Industrial Management Organization (IMO) and the Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO), aimed at identifying the country’s top-performing SMEs through a structured evaluation process.
Increasing trade, economic exchanges with Iran seriously pursued: Belarusian ambassador

TEHRAN- In a meeting with Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization Mohammad Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, Belarusian Ambassador to Iran Dmitry Koltsov stated: "We are seriously pursuing increased trade and economic exchanges between Iran and Belarus”.
Energy efficiency conference opens in Tehran with focus on reducing consumption

TEHRAN – The fourth International Conference and Exhibition on Iran Energy Optimization and Efficiency (IREEC) opened on Monday at Milad Towe Conference Hall, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders and knowledge-based firms to address what has become one of the country’s most persistent economic challenges: high energy consumption and low efficiency.

Society

IRCS ready to send relief aid to flood-hit Indonesia

TEHRAN –The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has expressed its readiness to dispatch relief teams and humanitarian aid to assist Indonesians affected by floods.
Anti-narcotics police attend intl. conference on drug control in Iraq

TEHRAN – A delegation of senior police officers, led by Iran's anti-narcotics police chief, Iraj Kakavand, participated in the third international conference on combating drugs, held on December 7 and 8 in Baghdad, Iraq.
Tehran hosts meeting of African envoys to boost science, health cooperation

TEHRAN – Iranian officials and the ambassadors of 19 African countries to Tehran have discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of science, education, research, and health.

Tourism

Archaeologist considers Chega Sofla site to be key civilizational link of Persian Gulf

TEHRAN--Chega Sofla ancient site in Dasht-e Zohreh, southeast of Khuzestan province, is one of the most key civilizational links of Persian Gulf, where the world’s first brick tomb, an elaborate shrine, and unique evidence of the privileged position of women in the 5th millennium BC have been discovered.
Tehran, Yerevan hold fifth meeting to promote tourism

TEHRAN--The fifth meeting of the joint technical committee for tourism cooperation between Iran and Armenia is being held in Yerevan, with the aim of strengthening bilateral interactions and facilitating tourist traffic, and will last until December 9.
Flights from five Iranian cities to Sharjah resume after months-long halt

TEHRAN - An Iranian airline resumed flights to Sharjah on Monday, operating the first service since the 12-day conflict with the regime of Israel, which started on June 13.

International

The tail that trained the dog to heel

TEHRAN – They built the room together. America paid for the walls, the fake grass carpet, and the giant posters of Trump’s twenty-point plan. America flew in the logisticians who know how to move rice through war zones. America even invited a few Dutch and Emirati officers to keep up the pretense of multilateralism.
Lebanon faces a choice between real power and foreign illusions

BEIRUT—Lebanon’s political and security landscape has long been defined by a paradox: the nation’s true defenders often operate outside formal institutions, while the official state struggles to assert authority, maintain sovereignty, or protect its people.
Syria one year after Assad: Jolani’s makeover, minority panic, and Israeli strikes

TEHRAN – On December 8, 2024, Syria entered a new phase when Damascus fell, and the Ba'ath Party’s long rule ended. Bashar al-Assad departed for Russia, where he was granted asylum. For many Syrians, Assad’s exit was neither a moment of triumph nor defeat, but the beginning of a new uncertainty. The vacuum left behind opened the door for forces both domestic and foreign to shape Syria’s trajectory.

From Pollard’s tea party to hidden microphones in Gaza “aid” center—same leash, same blood